Autistic Child Violently Sexually Assaulted On NJ School Bus, Lawsuit Says

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — Parents of an autistic 14-year-old girl are suing after she was allegedly sexually assaulted on a Passaic County school bus, and no one intervened, according to court documents.

The suit, of which plaintiffs are listed anonymously, says that the teen girl was sexually assaulted by another student on a school bus that was headed towards Windsor Schools, a Pompton Lakes special needs school, in October 2024.

According to the suit, a male student with a history of bullying and assaulting the girl ordered that she sit next to him on the bus. He then proceeded to put his hand down her pants, his mouth on her chest, and then forced her to give him oral sex, the suit says.

During the attack, which went on for several minutes, the girl was “completely frozen with fear and unable to move,” the suit reads.

The plaintiff’s attorney, Rosemarie Arnold, told NBC New York that prosecutors were unable to charge the male student with rape because “his own disability made it impossible to establish criminal intent.”

While the assault was happening, other students saw it, and neither the on-board aide nor the bus driver intervened, the lawsuit reads. It adds that the aide had “played on her phone” during the assault.

The bus driver, however, did notice the assault, the suit reads. It says that the driver reported the assault to her boss, but the boss “forbade” her from telling the victim’s parents.

Additionally, the male perpetrator has had violent outbursts on the bus in the past, including with the victim, to a degree that the police needed to get involved, the suit reads. However, the boy was never removed from the bus by Windsor Schools or the bus company.

“The fact that teachers and/or school aides and/or any other similar employees and agents of School Defendants knew, or at the very least should have known, that (the alleged perpetrator) had dangerous and violent propensities, which caused harm to students, and failed to take any
action to protect the students under their care, custody, and control, including Plaintiff, from him, makes School Defendants liable for the damages Jane Doe has sustained as a result thereof,” the suit reads.

It wasn’t until the following week that the girl reported the attack to the Windsor School principal, who in turn contacted her parents.

Despite knowing of the assault, the bus company, AKA Transportation, did not report it to the school, according to court documents.

The suit, filed last month, lists the anonymous male student, AKA Transportation, Windsor Schools, and the Paterson Board of Education as defendants. It mentions several causes of action, including sexual assault of a minor, negligence, and discrimination based on disability and sex.

Plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages, non-compensatory damages, pain and suffering damages, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.

Windsor School Directors Christopher Lynch and Camille Cerciello sent Patch the following statement regarding the incident:

The Windsor Schools are state-approved private schools for students with disabilities. As such, our student population is comprised of children sent to us from various public school districts. These districts contract for, or directly provide, their students’ transportation to and from our schools. The incidents that are alleged to have occurred involved students from the same district and took place on a bus that was not owned or operated by Windsor and did not utilize any Windsor personnel. While the incident alleged is deeply unfortunate, neither Windsor nor its staff were involved.

Patch has reached out to the Paterson Board of Education which was not immediately available for comment.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated with a statement from Windsor Schools.